Wander round Stirling

[quagga64]

Nice sunny day so I took a drive up to Stirling and parked in the layby just below the castle at the side of The Kings Knot, Got out and first walked across to The Kings Knot which forms part of the old Royal Gardens designed in the 17th century, from here I walked along the road and went into The Smith Institute Museum and spent some time in there looking at all the artifacts and exhibits many of them relating to Bannockburn and William Wallace but also on display is the worlds oldest football found in the rafters of the Great Hall in Stirling Castle and the headsmans cloak and axe used in the hanging and beheading of the two ringleaders of the Radical Uprisings in 1820 ! From here I walked up the Back Walk to emerge at the graveyards surrounding the castle and had a walk through the gravestones of the Holy Rude Kirkyard and the adjoining valley Cemetery complete with its many statues laid out in Victorian times. Went and checked out Mar,s Wark ruin and then up between the Holy Rude Kirk and the old Cowanes Hospital and back into the graveyard onto Ladies Rock which is an outcrop of rock within the Valley Cemetery from where there is great views out over the flat carse of Stirling to the West, then went up to the castle esplanade and took in the views over to The Wallace Monument and Ochil Hills before going down Broad Street to see the Old Tollbooth and Mercat Cross where hangings took place in the past then going down to see the Wallace Statue on the Athenaeum Building and along Corn Exchange Road and up the Back Walk again where I encountered some brilliant new wood carvings done only last month, One depicts the Wolf howling up at the town walls to alert the townspeople of Viking invasion according to legend and sice when the wolf has been the official beast of Stirling and another depicting a great broadsword complete with targe and full face battle helmet, they really are cracking sculptures and in brilliant fresh condition having been carved so recently. from here I passed the statues of Rob Roy McGreagor and Rabbie Burns before walking back along to my car as the layby has a 3 hour maximum staying time. Drove round to Sainsburys car park at Raploch and crossed the road and up onto Gowan Hill which has loads of new information boards set up all around it and spent quite a while going all round visiting these as well as paying another visit to the beheading stone on Mote Hill, then I went into Ballengeich Cemetery which offers some different views of the castle then back onto Gowan Hill and around part of the Back Walk before finally heading back to the car. All in all spent about 5 hours walking about Stirling and learning much of its history, it was a great day out.